Archive for the ‘Olivia’ Category
7 May
First bites
Since starting cereal a few weeks ago, Olivia has tried avocados, sweet potatoes and now, green beans. She was pretty skeptical after the first bite, but warmed to them quickly.
As I did with Ava, I’m making Olivia’s baby food. The first time around, I reasoned that it was easy to do, not to mention less expensive than jarred foods. Now, I’m not so sure about either of those things, but I’m committing to it anyway. For now.
It is a relatively simple process. Steam:
Process:
Freeze:
Eventually, we’ll just run whatever we’re eating through the food mill for Olivia. For now, though, we’re introducing new foods one at a time about a week apart, so it’s nice to have a few frozen options on hand.
4 May
Livie Love
Olivia hit the five-month mark a few days ago. She celebrated by cutting a second bottom tooth, and I don’t think her top teeth are too far behind.
She’s spending a lot of time scooting around her on belly, and when that doesn’t get her where she wants to go fast enough, she’ll just roll. She still loves to nap and manages to squeeze in about four a day. When we lay her down, she rolls over on her belly and buries her head in the fitted sheet. She’d prefer to nuzzle up to a blanket or soft toy–she has a penchant for situating highly-suffocative objects right next to her nose. She allows just enough room to cram her thumb into her mouth.
When her thumb’s not there, Olivia is constantly trying to find other things to put in her mouth. As Ava almost always has something on hand, they make for a dangerous pair. In the past few days, I’ve caught Ava trying to give Olivia a rock, a Cheddar Bunny and sip of milk. Needless to say, there’s a lot of supervision going on around here.
As predicted, Olivia has lost most of her hair. The mop left on the very top of her head is getting lighter by the day. She may not be as blond as her sister, but I don’t think she’ll be a real brunette, either.
I’m a little sorry to note that she’s discovered there’s a world beyond her mother. While she used to spend hours just staring at me (while I was staring at her), she’s now realized that there’s always something a tad more interesting to check out, and besides, she knows what I look like anyway. So instead of being unable to nurse because she’s too busy smiling at me, now she’s unable to nurse because she’s trying to crane her neck around to see what exactly is making that noise. (It’s almost always Ava.)
Still, I’m a pretty lucky mom–she’s a delightful baby.
29 Apr
First bites
Olivia’s first “real” food beyond cereal: Avocados!
This was Ava’s first food, too. We were concerned that Ava wasn’t gaining weight rapidly enough, and I thought the good fat in avocados would be very beneficial to her. Olivia doesn’t have that prob– well, Olivia is just fine when it comes to….er…oh, let’s just say we don’t have the same concerns about her.
She loved them anyway.
23 Apr
Olivia Fix
I’m planning a bit of a blog break, so I hope this will tide you over until next week. Here’s Olivia on her “last bite” of oatmeal. Bon appetit!
21 Apr
Have kids, will travel
Bryan’s parents hosted a wonderful family trip to Kansas City last weekend. It provided a perfect opportunity to explore a city that, despite our proximity, we know little about. It also gave Ava and Olivia a chance to catch up with their adorable cousins, and the “big kids” had a great time too.
Friday night, we had dinner on the Country Club Plaza, an area famous for upscale shopping and gorgeous architecture. We (quickly) checked out the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on Saturday morning–we discovered it’s not a great place to linger with small children.
I’ll definitely go back, but maybe by myself:
We had lunch at a popular burger joint, then spent the afternoon in walking through the plaza.
Doug and Karyl sent us out on the town sans kids Saturday night, and though we weren’t gone long, the reprieve was much appreciated. As Laura noted, kids often complicate even the simplest of plans.
Yet, somehow, they always redeem themselves. At least in the eyes of their grandparents, anyway.
Additional trip photos tomorrow, including those from a very memorable trip to the zoo. In the meantime, check out Doug’s gallery for more.
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